Shared Goals Are Not Enough: Why Teams Break Without Shared Behaviours

Explore why shared behaviours, not just shared goals, are essential for high-performing teams. Backed by Gallup data and Asia-specific insights, this article reveals how leadership, culture, and coaching unlock real alignment.

Gerald Ang

Founder & Coach, Wild & Wise

During my years working in MNCs, leaders often say, “We’re aligned on goals.” ‍

But when I work with these teams, what I often see is this: misalignment on behaviour.

Teams may agree on the destination but no one’s aligned on how they’ll get there. That’s when performance stalls, tensions build, and collaboration quietly breaks down.

Shared goals don’t mean much if they’re not backed by shared behaviours.

What Behaviour Has to Do With Performance

According to Gallup’s 2024 meta-analysis of 183,000+ teams, those in the top quartile of engagement were:

23% more profitable
18% more productive in sales
66% more successful at employee well-being and retention

And what drives engagement?

Not just strategy, not perks, not offsites. It’s day-to-day interactions, how team members communicate, challenge, support, and follow through. The things that live in your behaviour, not your business plan.

Gallup also found that 70% of team engagement is driven by the manager. That means leadership behaviour isn’t just influential, it’s actually pivotal.

Cultural Nuances in Asia: Why Shared Behaviours Matter Even More

In Asia-Pacific, shared behaviours can be harder to surface because of cultural dynamics like hierarchy, deference to authority, or avoiding conflict.

Studies across Singapore, India, and China show that in high power-distance environments, team members are often less likely to challenge ideas or speak up when there’s tension. But in today’s complex environments, psychological safety and collaborative culture are make-or-break factors for innovation and speed.

Without shared behaviours, even the smartest people play small, and creativity suffers.

What Can You Do?

The smartest leaders I work with aren’t the loudest in the room. They’re the ones still learning. The ones willing to pause and ask:

How are we showing up for each other?
Where is behaviour holding us back?
What do we need to name in order to move forward?

This is where CliftonStrengths® and coaching can play a game-changing role, not just as tools, but as facilitation spaces. Real conversations. Practical alignment. Working agreements that stick.

Because until your team agrees on how to behave together, goals are just words on a slide.